Lower Shore Scholarship Fund celebrates one-year anniversary, available tax credit for donors

DELMARVA – The Lower Shore Scholarship Fund is celebrating one year of providing support for students seeking a higher education.

The Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore launched the fund with dollars going to Salisbury University, Wor-Wic Community College, and University of Maryland Eastern Shore to help them identify priorities areas for scholarships.

CFES President Erica Joseph said a lot of that money has gone to students pursuing careers in the health care industry which is a big need in the area. “Each year we’ll see an increasing impact. It might be two $500 scholarships this year per school. In a few years, it might be three scholarships per school. Every bit we get donated surely helps with that and the investment returns are a boost as well,” Joseph said. “Especially as you get further along, there’s a lot of first year scholarships and they’ve been able to identify students that may be are in their sophomore or even junior year where scholarships opportunities are not as significant.”

Last year, $550,000 were awarded to students thanks to this scholarship and 420 others from CFES.

Donations of $500 or more to the fund qualify for the Endow Maryland Tax Credit. It’s a 25% tax credit available when donors file their state taxes for the next year.

To find out more about CFES scholarships and more, click here